Turkish PM fears Qatar issue spiraling into global problem

June 11, 2017Staff Writer

Turkey’s Prime Minister Binali Yildirim

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has said that the Qatar issue might soon turn into a global problem if the tension in the gulf region increases. “A new problem area that may be created here in Qatar would not be limited inside the region,” Anadolu news agency quoted Binali Yildirim, as saying at a fast-breaking (iftar) dinner in Istanbul.

He added that the risk of this issue becoming a global problem was very high due to the geostrategic nature of the region. Yildirim called on the countries of the gulf region, who are in conflict with Qatar, to act responsibly and contribute to reducing the tension rather than increasing it. Asserting that Turkey has made more efforts to ease the tension, Yildirim said that Ankara was negotiating with the world leaders and their diplomatic counterparts in the region to ease the current situation.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also promised to continue supporting Qatar amid a diplomatic row engulfing that Gulf state. Erdogan said he had never witnessed Doha supporting terrorism, adding Turkey “will continue to give all kinds of support to Qatar.”

The Turkish leader has urged Saudi Arabia to reduce tensions and lift sanctions. However, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE in a collective statement has accused 59 individuals and 12 charity organisations in Qatar of being “linked to terror.” “It is wrong to add more troubles on top of everything in the term that the Muslim world is already struggling with a lot of problems,” the Turkish President said. “I am telling you: There won’t be any winners in the brother’s fight.”

Erdogan has called for dialogue and negotiation among members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to ease the unprecedented diplomatic crisis that has erupted after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt severed diplomatic ties and traffic links with the resource-rich emirate, accusing Doha of sponsoring and funding terrorist organisations.

US President Donald Trump, who initially offered to host a White House meeting to resolve the prevailing Gulf crisis, also attacked Doha, accusing the monarchy of sponsoring terrorism. In a call with Qatari Emir Tameem Bin Hamad Al Thani on Wednesday, the President offered to help the parties resolve their differences, including through a meeting at the White House if necessary, according to a White House statement. But on Friday, Trump said, “Doha has “historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level… The time had come to call on Qatar to end its funding – they have to end that funding – and its extremist ideology.”

The Turkey Parliament passed a legislation on Wednesday permitting the deployment of troops to a Turkish military base in Qatar. Ankara will also train the Qatari Police force. Meanwhile, this situation is a repeat of 2014, when several Gulf countries recalled their Ambassadors from Doha over its support for Muslim Brotherhood.